m. As soon as he could release himself, he
caught hold of a fat little bundle, which had been coaxing one of his
legs all through Lieschen's embrace, and dragging it forwards, cried,
'Here she is--here's Phoebe!' Phoebe, however, was shy, and cried and
fought her way back to hide her face in Lieschen's apron; and meantime a
very odd scene took place. School-room and nursery were evidently at
most direful war. Each wanted to justify itself lest the lady should
write to the parents; each tried to be too grand to seem to care, and
threw all the blame on the other. On the whole, Honor gathered that
Mademoiselle believed the boy _enfantin_ enough to be in the nursery, the
nurses that he was in the school-room, and he had not been really missed
till bed-time, when each party recriminated instead of seeking him, and
neither would allow itself to be responsible for him. Lieschen, who
alone had her suspicions where he might be, abstained from naming them in
sheer terror of _Kobolden_, _Geistern_, corpse-candles, and what not, and
had lain conjuring up his miseries till morning. Honora did not much
care how they settled it amongst them, but tried to make friends with the
young people, who seemed to take their brother's restoration rather
coolly, and to be chiefly occupied by staring at Lucilla. Augusta and
Juliana were self-possessed, and rather _manierees_, acquitting
themselves evidently to the satisfaction of the French governess, and
Honor, perceiving her to be a necessary infliction, invited her and her
pupils, especially Robin, to spend a day in the next week at the Holt.

The proposal was graciously accepted, and Lucilla spent the intervening
time in a tumult of excitement.

Nor was the day entirely unsuccessful; Mademoiselle behaved herself with
French tact, and Miss Wells took her off Honora's hands a good deal,
leaving them free for the children. Lucilla, always aspiring, began a
grand whispering friendship with the two girls, and set her little cap
strongly at Mervyn, but that young gentleman was contemptuous and bored
when he found no entertainment in Miss Charlecote's stud, and was only to
be kept placable by the bagatelle-board and the strawberry-bed. Robert
followed his lead more than was satisfactory, but with visible
predilections for the Holt ladies, old and young. Honor talked to him
about little Phoebe, and he lighted up and began to detail her
accomplishments, and to be very communicative about his